Underground siting is a nuclear option

Underground siting of nuclear power plants is a concept that can be both technologically feasible and economically attractive. To meet both these criteria, however, each underground nuclear plant must be adapted to take full advantage of its location. It cannot be a unit that was designed for the surface and is then buried. Seeking to develop potential commercial programs, Underground Design Consultants (UDC)--a joint venture of Parsons, Brinckerhoff, Quade and Douglas, New York City, Vattenbyggnadsbyran (VBB), Stockholm, Sweden, and Foundation Sciences, Inc., Portland, Oregon--has been studying the siting of nuclear plants underground. UDC has made a presentation to EPRI on the potential for underground siting in the U.S. The summary presented here is based on the experiences of underground nuclear power plants in Halden, Norway; Agesta, Sweden; Chooz, France; and Lucens, Switzerland. Data from another plant in the design phase in Sweden and UDC's own considered judgment were also used